Two women laughing with their heads together. Learn about domestic violence in the deaf community.

Is This Sexual Assault?

Sexual assault is also called abuse. It is when someone forces you to have sex when you don’t want to have sex or if they try to trick you into having sex, or make you feel bad if you don’t have sex. There is also something called acquaintance rape. This means someone you know forces you to have sex. It could be a friend, a date or someone you work with.

Maybe you think a friend or family member has been sexually assaulted. Sometimes you can’t see anything, but you are worried. See if your friend or family member is acting differently. Some of the feelings they may be experiencing could be:

Shock and Numbness

She might feel dizzy and confused and not know what to do or how to feel.

Loss of Control

She may feel totally confused and doesn’t know what to do or how to act.

Fear

She may be afraid that the person who raped her may come back. She may not feel safe or want to be alone, and may be afraid she will remember the rape over and over.

Guilt and Self-Blame

She may feel like it is all her fault and that she should have done something to stop the rape.

Isolation

She may feel very alone and different from other people. She may feel like everyone is looking at her and they know about the rape. She may be afraid to tell others what has happened.

Vulnerability and Distrust

She may not know what to do, who to trust or how to trust herself. She is very suspicious and careful about everything.

Sexual Fears

She may feel that she will never want to have sex again and that sex won’t be enjoyable. She may feel that if she has sex again, she will always remember the rape.

Anger

She may be very angry at the attacker and very angry at the world because she might not feel safe anymore. She may also be angry with God that he didn’t stop it from happening.

Rape-Related Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Rape-Related Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is something that happens after a person is raped. How do you know if someone has Rape-Related Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder?

Fixating on the event: Does the person think about the rape over and over and have nightmares about the rape?

Social withdrawal: There is something called “psychic numbing.” This is when the person doesn’t feel anything at all. Not happy or sad. No emotions.

Avoidance behaviors and actions: Is the person avoiding other people? Is the person avoiding certain situations so they won’t remember that they were raped?

If you answered yes to any of these questions or you think someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please chat live with us or call the HAVEN 24-Hour Crisis and Support Line at 248-334-1290 (through Relay).

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